School-Based Collaboration with Families: Constructing Family-School-Agency Partnerships That Work - Hardcover

by James Brien O'Callaghan (Author)

Traditionally, when students have shown signs of problematic behavior, they have been removed from the conventional classroom environment and placed in special education classes, individual counseling, psychological testing, rehabilitation centers, and the like. Yet as dropout rates, drug addiction, and other problems continue to increase among our youth, it is clear that a more effective approach is needed. Drawing on a wealth of practical experience, J. Brien O'Callaghan shows that there is indeed a better way to help students overcome their problems

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Traditionally, when students have shown signs of problematic behavior, they have been removed from the conventional classroom environment and placed in special education classes, individual counseling, psychological testing, rehabilitation centers, and the like. Yet as dropout rates, drug addiction, and other problems continue to increase among our youth, it is clear that a more effective approach is needed. Drawing on a wealth of practical experience, J. Brien O'Callaghan shows that there is indeed a better way to help students overcome their problems. In School-Based Collaboration with Families, O'Callaghan offers therapists and other helping professionals practice-based solutions for fostering the healthy development of children. He presents a model of therapeutic assessment and intervention that encourages effective collaboration among families, schools, students, and others within the school setting. O'Callaghan provides a detailed, step-by-step blueprint for implementing the collaborative model that he has used successfully in more than three hundred school-based interventions. Based on this experience, he offers a framework for understanding and addressing behavior problems within the context of students' family and school systems - a viable alternative to special education, drug rehabilitation, or other outside interventions.